Very few, if any, comic book superheroes boast a rogues’ gallery that rivals the one accumulated by Batman over the years. While the mainstays like Joker, Riddler, Penguin and Catwoman have found their way into many of the different versions of Batman’s theatrical and television stories over the years, the Caped Crusader has another dozen or so villains who are arguably more formidable than many other heroes’ archenemies.
As Matt Reeves‘ Batman Epic Crime Saga unfolds, it’s clear that his grounded Gotham will continue to focus on the aforementioned baddies as well as the city’s organized crime families. Meanwhile, DC Studios’ co-chairs James Gunn and Peter Safran are charting a separate course for their vision of Batman who will play within the DCU sandbox that is still very much under construction. As part of the first public reveal of the plans for the DCU, the co-chairs shared the news that they were developing The Brave and The Bold as a vehicle to introduce not only Batman but also an as-yet undisclosed number of members of the Batfamily. Now, even as that project continues to be developed, a new report indicates the studio will utilize a pair of Batman’s deadliest rogues in another project.
According to THR’s Borys Kit, DC Studios has hired Captain America: Brave New World rewrite scribe Matthew Orton to develop a script that features Batman baddies Bane and Deathstroke.
Both villains have appeared in prior Batman films with Tom Hardy bringing Bane to life in The Dark Knight Rises and Joe Manganiello portraying Slade Wilson in the DCEU. A follow-up report by Deadline indicated that the nature of Orton’s project is not clear and that the film may not feature Bane and Deathstroke as the central characters of the piece but rather as part of a larger ensemble. As such it remains unclear what the project is but numerous online personalities are already laying down hints that Orton may be writing a Secret Six film for DC Studios.
